Isham Green Harris rose to prominence as leader of the southern rights wing of the Democratic Party in the 1850s. During the secession crisis of 1861, he used his influence and constitutional power as governor to trample on the Tennessee constitution in order to align Tennessee with the Confederacy; he tirelessly supported the Confederate war effort. When the war ended, he went into voluntary and temporary exile in Mexico, returning home in late 1867. He eventually became the best known of the states Bourbon Democrats and was elected United States Senator in 1877, remaining in that office until his death.